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British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2001, Vol. 87, No. 5 781-783
© 2001 The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia

Short Communications

Long-term consequences of repeated pentobarbital anaesthesia on choice reaction time performance in ageing rats

A. Blokland1, W. Honig2 and J. Jolles2

1Faculty of Psychology and 2Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht Brain & Behaviour Institute, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands*Corresponding author: Faculty of Psychology, Section Neurocognition, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands

Recent studies have suggested that anaesthesia may be a factor in cognitive decline with age. We examined the effect of repeated (eight times) anaesthesia with pentobarbital on reaction time performance in rats in a longitudinal study. Treated rats had faster response times and made more premature responses than the control rats when they were older than 21 months. The results suggest that repeated anaesthesia during the lifespan can lead to an increase in impulsivity, as assessed by a choice reaction time test, during the later stages of life in the rat. These findings support the theory that repeated anaesthesia is a biological factor that affects cognitive ageing.

Br J Anaesth 2001; 87: 781–3


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